Draymond Green may have only just re-signed with the Golden State Warriors in free agency, but the move to keep the 11th overall pick and draft Yaxel Lendeborg marks the beginning of the end for the veteran forward's era at the franchise.
Lendeborg's summer league form proves Green's role as the long-term starting power forward won't last much longer, and there's even the genuine possibility that the 36-year-old is ousted from the team altogether before next year's mid-season deadline.
Warriors taking Yaxel Lendeborg marks beginning of end for Draymond Green
Speaking on the Warriors Plus Minus podcast earlier in the week, Marcus Thompson of The Athletic even predicted that Green and his expiring contract will be traded if the team starts the season slowly.
"It's probably six months left for the Draymond Green era. He's on a one-year deal, $27.8 million, and doesn't have a no-trade clause, so that's a very tradable contract," Thompson said.
Thompson would go onto state that Golden State may consider "selling pieces and starting over." Starting over when it comes to the two forward spots would center around Lendeborg and Gui Santos, along with a potentially younger player they might get back in a Green trade.
There's an argument to be made that Santos and Lendeborg should be the starting forward combination entering the season, albeit Steve Kerr's faith in Green and his chemistry with Stephen Curry suggests that's unlikely to be the case. Nevertheless, Green's hold on the starting power forward role is coming to an end at some point in the next 12-18 months, having famously taken it from David Lee nearly a dozen years ago.
Yaxel Lendeborg could well accelerate Draymond Green's exit
Given he'll start the season at 24-years-old and based on his summer league form where he won MVP and led the Warriors a champiosnhip, Lendeborg's addition could accelarate Green's exit from the starting lineup and potentially from the franchise.
The pair may well start the season together given injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, but the former's return at around the halfway point could well leave Kerr with a decision that should go in Lendeborg's favor depending on where the players and team are at.
The bigger question may well be whether the Warriors (and Green) are comfortable with him in a lesser role while being on a nearly $28 million expiring contract, or whether they're ready to move on and ideally find an upgrade elsewhere on the roster.
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